The 11 Best Airplane Reads for Entrepreneurs
Short, informative, and to-the-point (just like you!)
I hear entrepreneurs say all the time that they don’t have the time to read. For shame. Reading is a wonderful way to learn — especially when the alternative is trial and error with an investor’s cash! Here are 11 books at or under 200 pages that you’ll have no excuse not to read the next time you’re on an airplane.
(and don’t worry! I put a doodle at the end!)
1. The War of Art—by Steven Pressfield
Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
Key Take-Away: Resistance is real — battle it like an artist.
165 pages
2. Hooked — by Nir Eyal (Ryan Hoover)
How to Build Habit-Forming Products
Key Take-Away: Create habit-forming loops to keep customers coming back.
209 pages
3. Rework — by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
“Ignore this book at your own peril” — Seth Godin
Key Take-Away: Un-know what you know about how to do business.
271 pages (more than 1/2 illustrations)
4. Creative, Inc. — by Meg Mateo Ilasco and Joy Deangdeelert Cho
The Ultimate Guide to Running a Successful Freelance Business
Key Take-Away: Tons of practical, actionable tips for going it alone.
175 pages
5. Steal Like an Artist — by Austin Kleon
10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative
Key Take-Away: Hey, being an artist is a lot like being an entrepreneur!
140 pages (of illustrations)
6. Purple Cow — by Seth Godin
Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable
Key Take-Away: If you stand out, people will take notice.
137 pages
7. Crush It! — by Gary Vaynerchuk
Why NOW is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion
Key Take-Away: This book might have been the impetus for Shia LaBeouf’s video, it’s that motivational.
134 pages
8. The Tao of Twitter — by Mark Schaefer
Changing Your Life and Business 140 Characters at a Time
Key Take-Away: If you don’t “get” Twitter, you’re doing it wrong.
198 pages
9. Lean Customer Development — by Cindy Alvarez
Build Products Your Customers Will Buy
Key Take-Away: Talk to your customers, they don’t bite — but they do know your business better than you.
194 pages
10. Manage Your Day-to-Day — edited by Jocelyn K. Glei
Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind
Key Take-Away: Everybody does productivity a little different, so you might as well learn from these geniuses.
211 pages (little less than)
and an honorable mention:
11. Evil by Design — by Chris Nodder
Interaction Design to Lead Us Into Temptation
Damn, this is a long one! But read each of the Seven Deadly Sins as its own book, and it becomes airplane reading.
Key Take-Away: A million tricky little ways to increase conversion.
267 pages (~38 pages per sin)
Let me know what you think of this list, message me: I’m @kikischirr on Twitter. Also, if you’d like to share this post with your followers, click the heart below to recommend it — I appreciate it, thank you!
| Patreon | Doodle for Hire | LinkedIn |
